Bassett Street Speeding Bumps Into Alder Race

“I want a stop sign right there by that school,” said Lossie Gorham. ​“And a speed bump.” She pointed at Lincoln-Bassett Community School, which stands across the street from where she’s lived for two decades.

Addie Kimbrough, the alder candidate who had knocked on Gorham’s door, nodded and repeated a refrain she’s often voiced on the campaign trail: ​“Newhallville is being neglected.”

A longtime Shepard Street resident who’s founded a local block watch and community garden, Kimbrough is running to represent Newhallville’s Ward 20 on the Board of Alders against party-endorsed candidate Brittiany Mabery-Niblack. Both are competing in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary election to replace first-term Alder Devin Avshalom-Smith, who is not running for reelection.

On Wednesday evening, Kimbrough knocked on several Bassett Street doors to spread the word about her campaign. 

Most of her knocks went unanswered. But Lossie Gorham was home, in the house where she’s lived for about 20 years.

Gorham hopes the neighborhood’s future alder will address the cars that often speed around the area. On her block, ​“a guy almost got hit the other day,” she said.

“Most of the schools, they have speed bumps and stop signs,” said Kimbrough. Though there are speed bumps along Shelton Avenue, there aren’t any outside Lincoln-Bassett’s entrance.

Correction: Gorham clarified a week after this article was first published that she is not sure which candidate she will vote for in the alder race.

Kimbrough pointed up the hill in the direction of East Rock, a neighborhood with more white, wealthy, and Yale-affiliated residents. ​“We don’t have the same things they have,” she said.

Kimbrough first ran for the seat two years ago against Avshalom-Smith. Though she lost that election, Kimbrough decided to advocate for changes on her street from City Hall anyway. Within the last two years, she successfully petitioned for a speed bump and sidewalk fix on Shepard Street. She got to know more business owners and referred them to city resources. She said she’s been in more regular touch with the Public Works department about trash receptacles and tree trimmings, she said. ​“I complain about everything, mostly,” she joked.

She also serves on board of directors for the Livable City Initiative (LCI), as well as for the Community Action Agency of New Haven and the Greater New Haven OIC.

She’s also amassed more of a campaign team than in 2021, when she primarily knocked on doors by herself. 

Her supporters include Newhallville resident Brother Born, a self-identified ​“conservative independent” voter who knows Kimbrough as both a neighbor and a community garden steward. 

Brother Born said he trusts Kimbrough as the person who keeps him informed about happenings in City Hall and has ​“an understanding of the policies.” He added that he distrusts politicians who are employed by Yale, alluding to Mabery-Niblack, arguing that a Yale affiliation is a ​“conflict of interest.”

“Addie has already been doing this work. It’s a good time for her to get that recognition,” said Fair Havener Jayuan Carter, who like many supporters has gotten to known Kimbrough simply from ​“being involved in the community.” 

Wandering down Bassett Street on Wednesday, Kimbrough reflected on how Newhallville has changed in the last two years.

“The people aren’t home as much,” Kimbrough said. ​“Different people live around here. Something changed. People move in and out.”

In previous remarks this year, Kimbrough has noted that most residents in Newhallville are now tenants, despite the neighborhood’s history as a hub of Black homeownership. She’s also decried gentrification associated with the luxury apartments and biotech companies developing in Science Park.

On Wednesday, she observed that the neighborhood has changed in positive ways, too.

“It’s getting quieter over here and that’s a good thing,” she said. ​“There are more children out here. They are playing more outside and I like that.” 

Those kids, Kimbrough said, are exactly why a Bassett Street speed bump is important.